Regularly reading and writing in the privacy area, I’m not easily shocked anymore. I’m cynical about corporations, I don’t really trust governments to do much better. Still, this article shocked me.

We’ve been talking theoretically about what would happen if a hostile government got hold of your data (as @aral puts it, your digital self). But what happens if, even before that, the information about your digital self is used to win elections? Legally too.

This is one of the most important articles I’ve posted recently. Regardless of your political affiliations, it is scary. Cambridge Analytica is everything we feared:

The Buzzfeed "response" article is pure misinfo IMO. This article has all the earmarks of American propaganda -- anonymous sources who won't identify themselves, very thin on research, thick on speculation. My guess is that the Buzzfeed article was placed by Mercer (the hedge fund guy behind Cambridge Analytica) operatives eager to divert attention away now that the scrutiny is beginning. God forbid Americans wake up! SCL/Mercer had to incorporate Cambridge Anal. in the US because their data gathering isn't even legal in EU (much of it came from "Cruz Crew" app -- i know, gross -- which ballooned its dataset by demanding social media contacts). My guess is Mercer and crew shopped this bullshit around to US media and Buzzfeed bit because 1) they are dumb and bite on alot of stories that other newsrooms pass on and 2) their business model is dependent on Facebook manipulation remaining legal/unscrutinized. The article does not pass the sniff test, there are hardly any facts in it. Like all Trump conjob bullshit, its all sleight-of-hand.